Former actor James Stacy is offering a $5,000 reward for the return of an ornate "Gunsmoke" belt buckle given to him in 1974 that has enormous sentimental value.
"It was just a beautiful buckle, nicely engraved with Jim Arness in the foreground and the Long Branch Saloon in the background," the 66-year-old Stacy said.
The brass buckle disappeared from Stacy's Ventura, Calif., home while he was away. "Someone just came in and took it," he said this past week, adding that nothing else was missing.
The buckle was a gift to Stacy from "Gunsmoke" producer John Mantley, whose name is engraved on the back. Stacy appeared in four episodes of the 1955-75 TV series.
The buckle was presented during a benefit show held for Stacy after a drunken driver collided with his motorcycle and he lost his left arm and left leg in 1973.